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Ryan seeks opinions on north east rail line

Member for Euroa and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Steph Ryan is calling for feedback from train commuters who travel on the north-east rail line.

Ms Ryan caught the train from Seymour to Benalla this morning with Victorian Coalition leader Matthew Guy to ask commuters what they want to see from their train service.

“I’ll be travelling the line as often as I can in coming weeks and months to ask people what their priories are and to hear their frustrations.

“For some that might be reliability or timely information about delayed and cancelled services; others want more frequent services.

Ms Ryan said she would use the information gathered from her research to push for an additional investment in rolling stock.

“The economic development of our region is being stymied by the inadequacy of the current train service,” Ms Ryan said.

“After a year of Labor we’ve seen a lot of hot air but no improvements for train users in our region.

“If Labor MPs were doing anything other than paying lip service to the north-east line, they would actually get on a train to talk to the commuters who use them.

“The government has touted the Regional Network Plan it is developing as the silver bullet but it has used the process to delay necessary improvements to the line.

“Labor purchased 21 rail cars in the last Budget, all of which were allocated to the Geelong line. Not one has been assigned for north-east commuters,” Ms Ryan said.

Ms Ryan said Labor had scrapped the Victorian Coalition’s plan for a $178 million investment in 79 new long-distances services across regional Victoria, including extra services on the north-east line.

“Labor has been in government for 12 of the past 16 years but all we’re getting are more trumped up excuses from Daniel Andrews,” Ms Ryan said.